Boris Johnson speaks out after Russian drone strike almost hit train he was travelling on
Boris Johnson has spoken out after a Russian drone strike almost hit the train he was riding in across the Ukrainian border.
The attack hit a train at Yahodyn station, on the Polish border, just minutes after the train Johnson was on had departed the station ahead of schedule.
The former British Prime Minister was heading to Poland after attending a major conference in Kyiv along with former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt and a number of European security advisers.
Rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said in a post on Telegram it was ‘quite possible’ that the drone had been aimed at Johnson’s train, the Press Association reports.
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The company said the train ‘had departed the station earlier than scheduled due to real-time adjustments to train timetables necessitated by the constant threat of Russian strikes’.
It also added that former CIA director David Petraeus had been on a different train that was still at the station when the drone struck.
No casualties have been reported due to the incident.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha branded the attack as ‘barbaric’ and said they represented ‘Putin’s terror ‘knocking’ directly on the doors of the EU and Nato’.
"Putin needs to understand that his barbarism will be met with decisive action that increases the cost of war for him to an unacceptable level. This is the only way to stop him," he said.
Johnson, who was unharmed, has since taken to X to share a statement about the scary incident.
He wrote: “I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning.
“What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day – even on civilian railways. So far Putin has been responsible for the deaths of 1,700 staff of Ukrzaliznytsia – Ukrainian Railways. They and their daily passengers are absolutely heroic.”
He added: “When are we going to give them the air defences they need? Why won’t we unfreeze Putin’s cash and give it to Ukraine? There is more than 140 billion euro in a Belgian bank account – and about £10 billion in London. Britain could show a lead.”
In the wake of the attack, the Conservatives described the incident as a ‘stark escalation’ by Moscow and urged the UK Government to increase defence spending.
Stuart Anderson, who was appointed shadow minister for war preparedness on Sunday, said: “It is yet another reminder that Russian aggression is a real and growing threat to European security and, ultimately, our own national security.”
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: “The strikes on Ukraine today, including on the gas works near Nato’s border, serve as a stark reminder of the bombardment that Ukrainians face every day.
“Reckless, dangerous attacks on civilian infrastructure so close to Poland also underline the wider security threat Russia poses.
“The UK continues to stand firm with Ukraine and will continue working with allies and partners to bolster European security.”
Topics: UK News, Ukraine, Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin
Claire Reid